Pipeline foes pack Lunenburg hearing

LUNENBURG -- The message was loud, and clear. We don't want the pipeline and we don't want its proponents on our land.

Nearly 100 elected officials, impacted landowners and the general public voiced their opposition to the state Department of Utilities regarding three proposed petitions that would grant access to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company to survey land of private landowners who have previously denied the company access.

The hearing was held at Lunenburg High School.

The three petitions propose granting access for the company to conduct surveys on more than 450 private properties throughout the state depending on the location of the land and its surroundings for a pipeline expansion project that would run through parts of Lunenburg and Townsend.

"I submit this letter of testimony objecting to the Northeast Energy Pipeline out of concern of the property rights and financial well-being of ratepayers, the environment and the commonwealth's energy future," state Rep. Jennifer Benson told the DPU Tuesday.

Benson, of Lunenburg, who represents the 37th Middlesex District, said the pipeline would halter the state's energy future and they shouldn't let the company survey people's land who are opposed to it.

"We are at a turning point of the commonwealth's energy future," Benson said. "We can either double down on our reliance of historic costs in non-renewable fossil fuels or we can use this opportunity expand the use of renewable technology such as solar, wind and hydropower.

Advertisement

"

Stephen August, the DPU's presiding officer, said they were there to hear public comments about the petitions proposed by Tennessee Gas Pipeline, not the actual pipeline construction, which is currently pending federal approval.

"(Tonight's hearing) is not about whether the pipeline itself should be approved or denied," he said. "This case addresses only whether the surveys are appropriate and meet the DPU's legal and regulatory requirements."

Many people who spoke at the hearing said the petitions for surveying certain lands were "premature."

Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leominster, urged the department to deny all three petitions, stating they haven't even explored other options, such as updating the pipelines.

"The petitions before you are very premature," she said.

Lunenburg Selectman Jamie Toale agreed with Flanagan.

"They have not done sufficient alternative analyses and have not fully explored and responded to recent studies of current and future gas needed in New England," he said.

Toale said the town's previous experience with Kinder Morgan, which Tennessee Gas Pipeline is a subsidiary of, is a key reason for his opposition.

"We in Lunenburg are in a unique position because we know Kinder Morgan," he said. "The company installed a pipeline here seven years ago and did not do right by our landowners."

Toale said Kinder Morgan was "not responsive to landowner requests, or to the requests of town officials to resolve problems."

Benson said the instillation in 2009 left a "swamp of damage in their wake."

Landowners are concerned about potential damage from the project.

Rebecca Dunn, who lives in Townsend, said the surveying and installing the pipeline would hurt her family's crops and thinks granting the access the Tennessee Gas Pipeline is seeking would be the beginning of them "stealing our land."

Townsend Selectman Carolyn Smart said she is also concerned about what it could potentially do to their land, which includes state parks along with private and public lots.

Smart said at a Town Meeting in July 2014, the town unanimously objected to the pipeline, but she now also opposes their access petitions.

"Our landowners along this proposed pipeline have already suffered a great deal of financial, mental and emotional stress," Smart said. "Allowing this unnecessary access now adds to the pain and suffering."

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.